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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190762">Curses For The Life We Lived</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emberleaf23/pseuds/Emberleaf23'>Emberleaf23</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood &amp; Manga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Injury, Ed loses an arm, Gen, Ishbalan | Ishvalan Alphonse Elric, Ishbalan | Ishvalan Edward Elric, Restored Alphonse Elric, Songfic, Time Travel Fix-It, darn self-sacrificial idiots, he didn't lose his body in the first place, it curses by the crane wives, mostly - Freeform, so eh, well this time</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:35:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190762</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emberleaf23/pseuds/Emberleaf23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed is given another chance.</p><p>He finds he doesn't have to do it alone.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alphonse Elric &amp; Edward Elric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! This is my Valentine's Day fic for 2021. A lot of people focus on romantic love, but I didn't have anything like that in my drafts close to finished, so I'm focusing on brotherly love!</p><p>(Putting this up early -2/3- so I can focus on other fics and stuff)</p><p>This is kinda a songfic, based off (shockingly) a song, and a fic.</p><p>The song is Curses by the Crane Wives, and it is sung during this fic. (Lyrics slightly altered)</p><p>The fic, which is here on Ao3, is When The Promised Day Comes by inbetweenfractals. (Spoilers for everything up to chapter 3)</p><p>It's an unfinished time travel fix-it fic. Except in my fic?</p><p>Someone else remembers too.</p><p>(I shoved in the Isvalan!Elric AU just for fun)</p><p>Note Notes: Ed and Al (in this version) don't look completely Isvalan: they have tanned skin, blonde almost-white hair, golden eyes. In this case, Al has red eyes but Ed passes as Amestrian (he has a golden eye and an eye that is half red). However, if I write more of this AU in the future, Ed will wear navy blue eye contacts. Okay, that's it for the extra thing.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ed had told Al to go get Winry and Granny Pinako, said he was gonna make everything okay.</p><p>Al was about a quarter of the way there, when he tripped and hit his head rather hard.</p><p>It knocked all the memories back into his mind.</p><p>Al got to his feet, and realized rather quickly what Ed was doing.</p><p>"Brother, you idiot." He muttered with a slight smile, turned around, and raced back.</p><p>He slammed the door open, and sure enough, Mom was stirring, breathing no longer irregular or quick, and Ed was clutching where his arm used to be.</p><p>Al was kinda surprised, despite everything, to see blood and bone instead of wires.</p><p>Al paused for maybe a moment before grabbing the closest med-kit and a ball of yarn.</p><p>When he rushed back in, Mom was awake and on her knees, staring in horror at Ed's sudden lack of symmetry.</p><p>Al sat beside Ed, ripping the kit open and immediately starting to wrap his arm.</p><p>Ed made a pained noise in his half-conscious state.</p><p>"Mom." Al said, face pained but voice deceptively calm. "You need to get Pinako. Now."</p><p>"A-Al, I... I have to stay."</p><p>Al sighed. "I can transmute bandages from a lot of the stuff around. You can't. You have longer strides- you'll get there faster. Hurry. It <em>can't</em> get infected."</p><p>He turned to the ball of yarn and grabbed it, transmuting it without a thought. </p><p>Or a circle.</p><p>...huh.</p><p>He decided to look into it later and wrapped the new bandages around Ed's chest.</p><p>"...why aren't you panicking?"</p><p>Al gave her a small smile. "That's a long story. Go."</p><p>She stumbled to her feet and out the door.</p><p>"Al?" Ed slurred, a little out of it from the blood loss. "Why aren't... ya... metally?"</p><p>"It's a little bit of a story, Brother. Shhh. Help is coming."</p><p>Then, after a small, hesitant pause, Al quietly started singing, as a distraction from the pain.</p><p>(It had been something he'd loved to do when he had his real body. He hated how the notes echoed hollowly, reminding him of his loss.)</p><p>
  <em>"There's a fire in my brain, and I'm burning up. Oh my, oh my.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Keep runnin' for the sink, but the well is dry. Oh my, oh my.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Every word I say is kindling, but the smoke clears when you're around. Won't you stay with me, my sibling?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"When our walls start burning down, down, down."</em>
</p><p>Al couldn't help but think about how well the song matched their story, from the first time around.</p><p>
  <em>"This house is our names, like an elegy. Oh my, oh my.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Echoing where our ghosts all used to be. Oh my, oh my.</em>
</p><p><em>"There's still cobwebs in the corner-"</em> Still there, not burning to nothing but ashes- <em>"And the backyard's full of bones."</em></p><p>Yeah, the song was pretty similar.</p><p>
  <em>"Won't you stay with me, my sibling? When this house don't feel like home? When this house don't feel like home?"</em>
</p><p>Why would it? Technically, for Al, it had been ashes about an hour ago, yet it currently sheltered them from wind.</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, ashes, ashes. Dust to dust."</em>
</p><p>His brain was trying to short-circuit at the old house around him and Ed.</p><p>
  <em>"The devil's after both of us."</em>
</p><p>With Ed having become a strong sacrifice candidate, without a doubt. There was definitely at least one homunculus watching them at the moment.</p><p>Fun.</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, lay my curses out to rest, make a mercy out of me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"This tired old machine is a-rumblin'. Oh my, oh my.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Singing songs to the secrets behind my eyes. Oh my, oh my."</em>
</p><p>A 14, nearly 15-year-old in a 9-year-olds body. Secrets behind his eyes- no shit, song.</p><p><em>"All my aching bones are trembling-" </em>So long without food or nourishment- <em>"And I may yet fall apart."</em></p><p>Probably was gonna happen, yeah.</p><p>
  <em>"Won't you stay with me, my sibling? When the war starts in my heart? When the war starts in your heart?"</em>
</p><p>(Everything they'd been through, raging in their hearts... it felt like a war.)</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, ashes, ashes. Dust to dust. The devil's after both of us.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, lay our curses out to rest, make a mercy out of we.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh, ashes, ashes. Dust to dust.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Tell me I am good enough. Oh, lay our curses out to rest, make a mercy out of-"</em>
</p><p>Al was cut off by a snore from Ed.</p><p>Al couldn't hold back a little giggle at that.</p><p>The song had helped Ed settle, taking his mind off the pain to pass out for reasons other then being hurt.</p><p>Al turned to the adults that flooded in the room.</p><p>(Mom, Aunt Sara, Uncle Urey- alive, alive, <em>alive-)</em></p><p>-----</p><p>"I can't tell you how he lost his arm- this is bigger than you think, okay?" Al said, glancing nervously at every shadow in the room as though it was a suspect in a murder case.</p><p>He had to be extremely careful about what he had to say- Envy, Gluttony, and/or Lust could be listening at any moment.</p><p>Everyone -Mom, Winry, Granny Pinako, Uncle Urey, Aunt Sara- had been asking for hours, since Al had (accidently) made it obvious that he knew how it happened.</p><p>(It was a lot easier to hide his emotions as a suit of armor.)</p><p>Al sighed. He understood their concerns, but explaining while the homunculi could be anywhere was an awful idea. Might as well just hand themselves over to Father.</p><p>Luckily, they gave up for the night after a few more hours. Ed <em>was</em> missing an arm.</p><p>---</p><p>Al was transmuting a piece of wood into a sculpture, then undoing it and redoing it, deconstructing and reconstructing back and forth.</p><p>
  <em>Sculpture, log, sculpture, log, sculpture-</em>
</p><p>Ed blinked open his eyes.</p><p>Al let him focus on him before speaking.</p><p>"Hey, brother."</p><p>
  <em>Log, sculpture, log, sculpture, log, sculpture.</em>
</p><p>Ed stared at the blatant transmutation in shock, a transmutation circle nowhere to be found.</p><p>"You remember." He muttered bluntly.</p><p>"Yeah." Al sent the log on the bedside table. "I do."</p><p>Ed gave a soft smile. "Good. I thought I'd have to do this alone. How's Mom?"</p><p>Al rubbed a thumb along the headboard. "No disease to be found."</p><p>"That's good."</p><p>There was a moment of silence.</p><p>Al laughed first, a soft thing echoing in the room, growing to a loud, shell-shocked thing.</p><p>Ed joined in, and they laughed and giggled and cried.</p><p>Al hugged Ed, and Ed let out another chuckle, tears rolling down his face. "She's alive."</p><p>Al nodded, sniffling. "She won't die."</p><p>"No metal armor."</p><p>"No running around, searching for the pieces of a broken childhood."</p><p>"No pouring over frustrating notes."</p><p>"No wondering if I'm real."</p><p>They cried a little more, holding each other, able to feel warm and cold.</p><p>Finally, Al pulled away, wiping his face.</p><p>"What do we do now?"</p><p>Ed smiled. "Isn't it obvious? We're sending an anonymous tip to a certain Colonel to look into Shou Tucker."</p><p>Al gave a sharp nod and a bright smile.</p><p>"Let's do it, brother. Let's save them all."</p><p>Fu, Nina, Hughes, Greed, Lan Fan, Havoc.</p><p>They <em>wouldn't</em> fail this time.</p><p>They promised.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Not Story, Just Ranting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Just a little bit of a rant and stuff. This is more about my account than this fic in particular, and what I'm going to write moving forward. Also a question but that's it. No story writing involved.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hi, guys! If ya read the title and summary, ya kinda already know what's goin' down.</p><p>Okay, here's the thing with me.</p><p>When I write stuff, I make up a bunch of variants to that story, and I only use one. I'm wondering: would you guys like to see those variants?</p><p>Like, for example. This story? One major variant at least, and a bunch of minor differences that change, like, everything.</p><p>Major Variant: I combined Hero of War (that fic I put in inspirations last chapter where Roy lives in Resemble) with this story, throwing a wrench in Ed and Al's 'let's do mostly the same things and sneak up on Father' plan. Like, Roy bursts in with the other adults and Al is just, "Oh, right. Well, fuck." Because no Colonel. I was thinking Hughes could take Roy's place, but I'm not sure 'cuz the homunculi would not want it getting out that Roy is alive.</p><p>Minor differences (to this story):</p><p>1-Ed charges out to fight Lust and Al remembers at the exact same time and Al chases him, cursing</p><p>2-Al can switch between his armor and human body because Truth wants them to win against Father (somehow no Equivalent Exchange)</p><p>3-Al uses dream alchemy he learned from Mei (along with the Dragon's Pulse) and he and Ed use that to tell who they want everything without alerting the homunculi since they don't use Alchemy and it just looks like everyone is sleeping (because they are) And it can be used long-distance (just somehow chalk it up to Mei's ability to do long-distance). Probably OP but still a concept.</p><p>4-Ed and Al remember during dinner in the HoW variant and Lust shows up only to be beaten up by Ed and Al and killed by Roy, who then remembers because plot. They formulate a plan to not be Xeres</p><p>5-Variant of 4: Lust just sending her spear towards Ed's heart and Al turns into armor and stops it with his arm because badass</p><p>6-Variant of 4/5 but Al remembers but Ed doesn't and is extremely confused. Al kills Lust, and refuses to explain literally anything, until he makes a shared dream (from Variant 3) and explains everything, to which Roy and Ed remember and Truth pops in to throw out vague insults</p><p>---</p><p>That's not even all of them. I have all these alternates and I don't use any of them.</p><p>Maybe I could mix and match (already have) like Ed attacks Lust (1) and Al uses his armor (2) to kill Lust (technically 6). But it's all so confusing. I guarantee that you were confused just reading that list.</p><p>So this is my question: Do you guys want me to write out and publish some of these? Maybe you could mix and match and add, and I have to write your combinations into narratives or something. Just an idea.</p><p>But seriously. Look at those ideas- not using them kinda feels like a waste. But would you want to see that?</p><p>Maybe I could add on chapters, one for each variant, or I could just make one giant fic with all the variants of all the fics, like, one work per fandom for all those other ideas and just provide links for whatever story I'm referring to, or one book with a chapter or two for each variant written in a few paragraphs.</p><p>But both of those are really confusing.</p><p>Maybe I could ask you guys for your favorites, pick out my favorites, do a pole between those, and just write that as an add-on fic and make add-on fics a series.</p><p>I dunno. This is very confusing for all of us.</p><p>So, if you understood any of that whatsoever, please comment any ideas that come to mind or favorites or anything you think would help me untangle this Gordian knot of a brainstorm.</p><p>And remember, I have this kinda stuff for almost every fic I make. They may have less, or they might be really short, but for the most part, a lot of my stories are just like this.</p><p>Oh! Idea! I have a Gravity Falls What-If fic in my drafts on Wattpad (what if Mabel became the Gnome Queen?, ect.) so the idea is:</p><p>Put what-ifs (variants) in one work and give each work a number or marker of some kind, so people can just go into the chapter index, and look for the ones marked with the fic's marker, so you don't have to worry about it if you're still finishing another show I've written about.</p><p>Well, it's the least confusing so it's probably gonna be that unless someone comes up with a better idea.</p><p>That probably gave you a headache. Sorry. Imma end this quick.</p><p>Bye.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, guys! This is actually a later edit, but I wanted to add it. See, I've been thinking about adding sections for my stories that include my inspirations, like, where I got all the stuff I thought of. I always have a lot, so there's probably not gonna be all, but I think it would be good for you to know where I got everything, if you want to know.</p><p>Inspirations:<br/>-Nequitia Est Manus by Azei on Ao3 (concept of Ed with navy contacts)<br/>-When The Promised Day Comes by inbetweenfractals (main story)<br/>-Curses by The Crane Wives (song)<br/>-Hero of War by DejaVu22 on Ao3 (solidifying Trisha and how I would write the Rockbells)<br/>-Undertale (just the vibe of determination at the end)</p><p>I think that's it. Bye! Happy Valentine's Day!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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